PRIME CUTS
by Neil Davies1
Summary: Don't look in the freezers, this is flashed over all the hyperion hypermarket but why what's in them, will it soon be Kate and the Doctor? Who or what's really in charge and will Kate survive a career in retail?


11

PRIME CUTS

Pushing hard Z moved the heavy horizontal freezer cabinet from the lift to the centre of the storage room, where many other such cabinets could be seen lined up in rows. A vast neon sign dominated the room flashing a simple message DON'T LOOK IN THE FREEZERS, something the manager had impressed on Z with a stern warning, "You may be tempted but it's more than your job's worth and I'll know, I always know."

To the far left where two big vertical generators a green one and a red one, both hummed away softly. Heaving the cabinet passed them Z lined it up next to the other freezers then he paused struck by an irresistible urge to defy the manager and the company; too many strange things had happened and he was worried he might be next so taking out a rag he began to wipe condensation off the lid, scrubbing hard until the cloth was drenched and then he reared back with a gasp.

Staring up at him from the freezer interior were a pair of frozen human eyes, still and sightless almost accusing, their peered out from a ghastly rictus of a face grey and stone-like, the mouth open in a silent scream of terror.

In between the two generators was a large gap, within it a curious blue fog began to form, it swirled in agitation, twisted and spinning, gaining height and width until a blue oblong box had formed solidifying and rasping until with a final bump it fully materialised.

The girl came out first tall and pretty, her shapely figure hugged by the same sort of bland orange and pink uniform Z wore. She had objected to wearing it and still found it tight and itchy, not her colours at all. What also annoyed her was that her male companion wasn't in uniform unless you counted his curious costume of long frock coat, grey trousers and black boots; Edwardian chic he called it.

Face drawn with concentration he was studying a fob watch that wasn't a fob watch, its tiny but complex display telling him anything but the time; a time lord always knew the time, he was receiving tiny chunks of text and symbols in various bright colours.

Kate glanced around in disgust muttering, "Anywhere in time and space, any planet, any dimension, anywhere in history and where do we end up," her eyes fixed on a sign which said HYPERION HYPERMARKET, the same words ran down her sleeves and trousers.

"Something's very wrong here Kate, people have disappeared and nobody seems to care; how can staff and customers simply vanish," said a man who vanished all the time.

"So I'm going under cover is that it, posing as a till girl, a shelf filler, a cleaner," Kate couldn't hide her annoyance she hated retail, "What about you what are you posing as," she demanded just as a strange little man scurried over, his name tag just said Z not a name just a letter. Z was very pale like he'd had a bad shock and she noticed his hands were trembling.

Kate was a bit put out to see him but her companion just took it in his stride smiling affably.

"Oh thank solar you're here," Z muttered looking at the Doctor not her, "I've found something," he had barely finished when the Doctor sped past him cantering over to a freezer cabinet, taking out his own hanky to mop furiously.

Kate's stomach turned over when the lifeless face became visible and she took a step back, what kind of hypermarket was this?

"Obviously he's dead," she gasped to no one in particular.

"That's R," Z informed, "He was on the shift before mine; they said he left because of a family emergency."

The Doctor's tone was ironic, "I'd say freezing to death qualifies as an emergency."

Kate's look was censorious how could he so callous, fancy making a joke of it?

The sonic came out it was twirled, fiddled with and aimed at the cabinet lock. Z looked scandalised,

"You can't open a freezer once it's sealed," he complained, "It's a cat 3 offence, sacked, fined and imprisoned."

Kate blinked that all seemed a bit harsh, "What happens if you commit a cat 4 offence?"

"You end up in one of these with the pork chops," said the Doctor his odd sense of humour still on form, "Don't worry Z I'm allowed to do this, health and safety," he nodded to Kate to take the psychic paper from his jacket pocket which she did flashing it at the nervous employee.

He shivered, "Spot inspection, but we never have these."

"You do now," she told him as the cabinet lid hissed open to release a thick cloud of icy smoke, waving this aside the Doctor leaned into the cabinet to run his sonic over the rigid cadaver, a man in his thirties, slightly overweight but clearly wearing the orange and pink uniform of a Hyperion employee.

"He didn't freeze to death," the time lord said straightening up, "I was wrong he was dead when he went into this thing," the sonic was waved at the spot on the man's torso upper left quadrant and Kate squinted through the vapour. The injury was clearly from a hand blaster at close range, R had been murdered.

"We should call the police," she gulped.

"There aren't any police here," Z objected, "Just private security owned by…

Owned by the company," the Doctor finished cynically like he'd expected nothing less, "Health and safety inspection it is then," he took the psychic paper back brandishing it like a trophy, "How do I find the manager?"

Z pointed at the floor which had a complex array of coloured lines, "Just follow the green," he said indicating the thickest and brightest line.

"Green is management," Kate guessed, "What about the others?"

Z moved his stubby finger from line to line green was deliveries, yellow were cleaners, and orange was regular staff.

He'd left one out and she asked, "What is black for?"

The little man seemed to retreat into himself, hugging his stomach and shaking his head several times. He was scared of black; black was something unpleasant.

Airily the Doctor waved, "Green it is then green for go," he eyed Z, "Look after my friend won't you her name is K."

Kate bristled at being reduced to a mere letter it felt demeaning; she was a person she had rights even if she did work in retail.

"See you later," she said acidly, "D," thick eyebrows arching where the only sign the Doctor had registered his own reduction then off he trotted through a wide doorway over which pulsated DON'T LOOK IN THE FREEZERS.

Going over to the dead body and trying not to meet that accusing stare of death Kate forced the lid shut, so staff got murdered here and she was now staff it was not a comforting correlation.

"Okay Z so what do I do," she asked hoping she didn't have to wheel in another cabinet, where there bodies in them all she elected not to check?

"You'd better report to the supervisor and get clocked in," he said, Kate winced at this old fashioned phrase, she'd spent her whole life avoiding a job like this even during summers she refused to do retail.

Following Z into the main body of the store she was aghast at the size of it, the rows and aisles and displays stretched off into the distance as far as she could see, the hypermarket was beyond vast it was all consuming and the domed ceiling seemed to be miles away, through its glass she could see delivery shuttles floating past coming and going like a swarm of wasps.

"How big is this place," she couldn't see the Doctor at all and thought how fast he could move for an older guy?

"Two thousand miles wide and three thousand miles long," Z reeled off these numbers without even pausing like to him they were routine.

Kate's brain spasmed with shock; how big?

"You're joking right," she said, "You're not joking are you," brushing blond strands out of her eyes she saw other Hyperion staff stocking shelves having to stand on anti-gravity disks to reach the highest ones, they worked like ants like robots unsmiling, unspeaking and each with a letter not a name she saw B, D, F and others.

"How many people work here," she asked guessing it was in the hundreds but Z just shrugged.

"No idea we're not encouraged to ask questions like that," eyes down cast he forged ahead.

"But staff have gone missing right," Kate persisted knowing she was expected to nose about hence her uniform; she wasn't just here to stack baked beans?

"More recently," Z admitted.

"Any idea why or where they are apart from being deep frozen," she tried not to sound flippant, she didn't want to sound as callous as the Doctor who seemed to take death for granted, wherever they went people died it was standard.

"You'd better hurry he doesn't like to be kept waiting," Z's whole attitude was one of nervous oppression, the guy was permanently scared. Upping her pace Kate turned into a new aisle and almost fell over the small bald man in the white jacket, he only came up to her elbow.

His head was totally devoid of hair, no eyebrows, no beard; he didn't even have those disgusting fibrous feelers coming out of his nose like most middle-aged men.

"This is Pod," Z informed and Pod looked just like one with his pod-shaped head and pod-like body, unsmiling and squinty he regarded her with brisk officiousness and she immediately knew he was a 'little-Hitler', he just radiated that whole little-squirt-big-job attitude she'd always hated.

Why did Pod have a name and not a letter, did you rise above letters once promoted to his level?

"You're late," his first words squeaked out in a silly high pitched almost helium voice and Kate found it hard to keep a straight face. The word sorry was on her lips when Pod continued, "I'm docking you five credits," he took out a small tablet and jabbed its screen maliciously, "Plus your uniform is the wrong size, another five credits," Kate's loathing of the man intensified, yes definite Hitler tendencies with a whiff of Napoleon thrown in, he was bully who enjoyed pernickety regulations and intimidation.

Oh sorry she thought I didn't come by bus or taxi but a time machine that's rarely on time.

"What where you doing in storage," Pod asked surprisingly her, how he had he known about that?

"Assisting me," Z said quickly jumping to her defence, "Those freezers are hard to shift single-handed."

A sniff greeted this and no thanks were offered, "I see well as you're so strong you can continue to help Z move other freezers."

Did this mean other bodies? Kate wondered how many people had been murdered here and why they had to die; presumably she was about to find out.

"You may go," Pod dismissed.

"Err excuse me," she interrupted much to his annoyance.

"Well," he barked?

"Don't I get a contract, terms of conditions, a copy of the rules, is there no induction programme," at GalNet she'd undergone a lengthy and complex training process, mind you that had been a proper firm with a good reputation not some fast buck operation like this?

Pod sized her up again with his mean little eyes, "You ask too many questions, we don't like questions here, staff work they do as they are told."

Before Kate could object to this draconian attitude Z began to shuffle her away throwing Pod apologetic looks, "She's new," he said, "Out of the system."

Don't make excuses for me Kate inwardly fumed not to this odious little creep, but before she knew it she was in another aisle one filled with the big freezers and Z was gripping her arm.

"Don't annoy Pod, get on the wrong side of him and you won't last long here."

"He's a twat," Kate hissed, "An undersized, mean mouthed little slap head."

Waving her to be quiet and moderate her language Z cringed, "Haven't you undergone submissiveness training, it's compulsory in retail?"

Was he being serious; deciding he was Kate shrugged and waved at the freezers, much as the thought revolted her she needed to see inside another of them. Pod was a minor problem, a small irritation and she wasn't here to worry about staff working conditions.

"Let's bend our backs then," she sighed.

There was something very wrong with the lime coloured reception room, as a man who travelled in a ship bigger on the inside the Doctor had developed exceptional depth perception, he had become sensitive to pan dimensional realities and this place seemed too small.

He touched the left side wall, yes that was solid enough, right side wall next and this was okay to so he moved to the back wall and froze hand raised but held in check. Yes the wall was holographic he could sense it, probably a force field to, his fingers extended slightly and he felt the nerve endings tingle proving him right.

Removing the psychic paper he held it up for the person beyond the field to see, "Health and safety spot inspection," he clicked his heels, "You are obliged to comply under," he searched his brain for the right jargon, "Company rules," he finished and a voice boomed from all around him, no doubt meant to be impressive and awe-inspiring but to a time lord of his age it felt like an old trick.

"You are not known to us," it echoed making his head itch, "And there has never been such an inspection before," the voice was definitely irritated.

"You're long overdue then," the Doctor beamed but the smile didn't reach his eyes, "With your exception staff turn over, people don't stay here for long and we want to know why."

"It's the nature of the industry," said the voice, "Staff come and go, most aren't suitable."

The Doctor cut in, "Where do they go exactly, the people you get rid of only we're having trouble tracing them, our records show them coming here, working for you and then," he waved his hands in the air, "They just disappear off the radar, dozens of them."

Silent for a while the voice finally came back and said, "That is not our concern once they leave our employ."

"Well I think it should be, questions are being asked; it doesn't show you in a very good light."

"Our reputation in this sector," the voice began tersely then mellowed somewhat, "You are of course free to view our staff records."

"Thank you but I'd much rather talk to the staff already here, get some direct feedback as it where."

"Staff are not encouraged," the voice began.

"Yes," the Doctor urged?

"To chatter aimlessly," the voice finished.

"You mean to voice an opinion is that it, well if they can't speak freely how else am I going to learn anything?"

This was considered and during the lull the Doctor touched his sonic turning it to scan mode, he had to find out who or what was behind the field and why they felt the need to mask themselves even from him? The manager hadn't even furnished him with a name, why so shy what did he have to hide?

"You may communicate with staff," the voice conceded, "But we insist on monitoring all conversations."

"NO," The Doctor boomed, "That is not acceptable, I must be free to ask what I like of whom I choose and people must be free to give candid and honest answers otherwise what's the point," he carried on heedlessly, "I also which to inspect your freezers, you seem to have a great many of them."

"This is a hypermarket we deal with a lot of frozen produce," the voice was on the defensive now clearly rattled by the brusque manner.

"Then I wish to view you inventory, produce in and waste out," said the time lord.

"That is classified information," the voice blustered.

"Not to me I'm an official investigator I've a right to see it," not knowing if this was true or not the Doctor rose to his full height he'd met Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Bonaparte and many others there was no way he was going to be brow beaten by a glorified intercom.

"We will see what can be done," the voice fudged.

"Good I'll be back to see you in a couple of hours," the Doctor made to leave then paused, "And when I say see you I mean just that, I want to see the face behind the voice not talk to a green holo field," about facing he walked out giving the voice no chance to object.

There that should make something happen; he'd been pushy, objectionable and wanted to grill staff he felt sure this would bring these creatures out into the open whatever they were because he was now totally certain that human beings were not in charge of this hypermarket if they ever had been.

Clear of the green reception room he took a sharp right, marched meaningfully to a junction and looked back. Yes as he'd expected a floating surveillance drone had detached from up high and was tracking him. The Doctor had no intention of grilling staff, nothing so mundane they probably wouldn't tell him anything anyway not with that drone hovering close by. No he had other plans.

Sonic out he gave it a bit of a twirl and under his breath grunted, "Right, let's get this party started."

Kate was fit she did gym 4 times a week but pushing the big heavy freezer made her back ache despite the castors, how had Z managed all on his own? The two of them were shifting an especially large freezer (a mark 4) from an aisle towards storage.

Suddenly a hand came to res ton her shoulder making her jump, she didn't scream but she did flinch wondering who it would be.

The Doctor hissed, "Take that directly into the tardis."

Heart in her mouth she was relieved to see him, "Okay, what was the manager like?"

"Hid behind a force field, I'm just about to rattle his scales or fur or whatever he's made of."

"You mean he's not human," why wasn't she surprised after meeting Pod?

"What are you planning?"

The sonic was waved it was emitting a three tone pulse that made her sinus cavity ache, "It's just about to start…now."

She was wet, moisture was raining down onto her hair and shoulders as the sprinkler system went barmy, then several klaxons began to scream and yelp, she saw a till light up like a Christmas tree and begin to vomit small oblong coins – credits she presumed much to everyone's delight.

Shutters clanged up and down, TV's flashed on and off and the overhead drone began to spin like a top.

"Go," said the Doctor, "Don't let Z into the tardis."

"Why not," Kate was asking when she realised she was alone; Z looked panic stricken and unsure what to do.

"Come on," Kate bossed pushing hard, she felt wet through and her ears were buzzing from all the noise, "Let's go Z."

Flapping about for a moment the little man nodded and helped her shove the big cabinet into storage; he said "It goes over here Kate."

Ignoring him she headed straight for a tall blue box, as she did both its doors automatically opened to reveal a blazing interior that telescoped on and on like an optical illusion.

"What's that," Z hung back startled which worked in her favour.

"Don't ask," she told him grunting with the effort of pushing the cabinet alone.

"Is that yours," he asked, "How did it get in here?"

The cabinet crested the edge of the tardis doorway and the moment it did it became weightless, Kate suddenly found herself pushing almost nothing. Rising off its castors the big freezer glided effortlessly into the tardis, she was able to push it one-handed.

That just left her one problem what to do with Z, why didn't the Doctor want him inside the ship what harm could he do?

"Wait here," she said glad there were no sprinklers in storage and the noise was muffled.

"On my own," he gulped and her heart went out to him, poor little guy he seemed so harmless and so scared, what danger was there in him entering the tardis? After all he might at risk out here from whoever ran the hypermarket.

"Okay come on then," she relented, "But you're not to mention this to anyone."

Striding through the shouting, screaming, panicking people in what felt like a torrential downpour the Doctor was smiling, not something he did very often in his current form which could be rather taciturn. He wondered how long it would be before they came for him so he kept a high profile, no point in making it too hard. He'd caused utter chaos after all and the creatures behind this hypermarket were no doubt furious with him.

A figure stepped out to bar his way it was Pod, with Pod were two burly shop floor slaves named G and Y beefy types who looked like they could carry a lot of beans between them.

"Is this your doing," Pod asked in his snide Napoleonic voice, not waiting for a reply he gestured to his cohorts, "Bring him."

Oh good thought the time lord now he could really up the stakes, as G lunged forwards a dark foot kicked a wobbly display of dog food, big heavy yellow tins that came crashing down on top of the oaf burying him completely.

Dodging them Y came at the Doctor from the side just in time to get a trolley in the stomach; it just slammed into him and carried him away up a side aisle, his cuffs caught in its handle bar.

Pod's eyes widened in surprise when something narrow and cod touched his neck, it gave off a faint sonic hum and a stern voice purred.

"Take me to your boss right now, no holo field this time I want to see him for myself."

"Who are you," Pod's voice now quavered with fear, a bully whose bluff had been called?

"I'm the administrator," the response was cool, "I've come to close this nasty little operation down."

Kate was a bit miffed, the response from Z was not what she'd come to expect, not the one she'd displayed upon first seeing the tardis interior. There was no bug eyed stare, no intake of breath, no "oh my god" or "It's huge" or rapid spinning to take in the grandeur of the control room, Z just stood there noting everything in a routine sort of way like he was counting frozen cod he didn't even seem all that scared anymore.

"This is the tardis," she told him trying to get a reaction, "It travels in time and space," that usually blew people away but all Z did was nod like she'd mentioned the price of pork fillets, "Have you seen a tardis before," she asked, "Only you're taking this very calmly," she'd been freaked out for ages?

Finally he looked at her with his small flat eyes and she realised something she should have realised before now, Z didn't blink enough, wasn't lack of blinking indicative of something?

"Thank you," he said to her in a monotone.

"Thank you," she repeated easing away from him?

"This is about what we expected," he said features like marble as he back kicked the outer door shut losing his docile, submissive retail slave persona completely, about the same time Kate realised she'd been had and should have listened to the Doctor who was going to be furious at her gaff, if she lived to see the end of it.

It was a dome of cans, pineapples and various other exotic alien fruits, the Doctor stared at it then his prisoner in wonder.

"Holographic," Pod told him anxiously, "It's the back door into the manager's office."

The Doctor squinted, scanning the obstacle to confirm that it was indeed a portal, "What does he look like this manager of yours?"

"I've no idea he masks himself even from me, but there's a smell, an odour it's quite," Pod wrinkled his face, "He isn't human."

Having guessed that much the time lord aimed his sonic at the pyramid and it blurred before vanishing to reveal a big hole, a big black hole, a sort of void.

"You can toddle off now," he told Pod, "I suggest you evacuate this entire area; I don't want to see you again is that clear."

Alone the Doctor stepped into the void passing through layers of darkness each one more blinding than the last, he was grateful for the green glow of the sonic then light and colour enveloped him, subdued colours dull greens, greys and reds with a misty vaporous carpet that reached up over his socks and in the centre of the room was a low circular way in which a curious heat have shimmered.

"Hello again," the Doctor said softly and the haze convulsed as a mass within it spun around, "Why don't we clarify the situation," the time lord raised his sonic and the haze slowly evaporated to reveal what lay within; something so ghastly he almost regretted exposing it.

The creature gazed down at him, its coiled serpentine body had to be 30 feet long at least, a thick green cable of scales and spines that rose up to not one head or even two but three.

The three heads were vaguely humanoid in that they had eyes and mouths but they were hairless just like Pod, in fact very like Pod, identical you might almost say and they were smiling a very unpleasant smile indeed; one that told the Doctor he hadn't been as clever as he'd thought.

Pod had been right about the smell a mix of diesel, methane, copper and soliton gas all highly volatile and at least two of them were lethal under long exposure. The soliton gas was the strongest a bitter tang that hurt the back of his nose and made his eyes water, thank goodness for a respiratory bypass system or he'd be on his knees in no time.

The 3 headed hydra regarded him like a play thing and he croaked, "I can't place the species but you're not unlike the serpentine creatures of Proxima 3 and the many headed snake mutations of Diaxis Major."

The middle head spoke and its voice was almost exactly like Pod maybe a little more rasping, a degree more hissing, "You have caused us a great deal of trouble Mr health and safety inspector," the alarm klaxons could still be heard in a muted way, "But order will be restored and this hypermarket will remain open for business."

The Doctor, "What business is that exactly, murdering and deep freezing people, presumably for shipment elsewhere, a sort of alien retail food chain."

The 3 heads loomed closer and the stink grew stronger forcing the Doctor to back off, a hanky lifted to his nose; the soliton smell gave him an idea. Then the right side head was speaking, "Our natural food supply has dried up so to speak so we had to find an alternative supply."

"Through murder," the tone was accusing, "The murder of innocent people?"

"Ineffectual staff members and tiresome customers; none will be missed."

The Doctor shook his head, "But they were missed, they were missed by me and therein lay your mistake, you got greedy."

All 3 heads hissed at this a hiss of annoyance perhaps it was hard to tell then the one on the left declared in a gloomy voice, "Will you be missed Doctor," it enquired, "Because the next freezer we fill will contain your body," and the long whip-like tail of the monster closed around him in a tight unyielding grip, moving too swiftly for him to get out of the way and constricting his breath like a python.

"Don't squeeze too tightly my brothers," said middle head, "We don't want the carcass to have a displeasing appearance after all the first bite is with the eye," it chuckled.

"Get out," Kate ordered injecting as much authority into her voice as she could given that she was scared stiff, Z didn't leave in fact he moved further into the control room and now she could see he was an android because the palms of his hands and the back of his neck hadn't been given a proper coating of plasti-skin.

"The manager will be very pleased with me, I'm expecting a big bonus for this," Z gripped Kate by the arm with a strength that could only be hydraulic, "A tardis and one of its pilots; I expect the manager has already acquired the other pilot," head canting on one side Z closed a single eye for a moment, "Yes he has the Doctor is in his grip right now," the lips curled into a fake smile, "A very tight grip I'm afraid."

Eye reopening he studied the central console the heart of the tardis with its many faceted terminals and hotch potch of ill-fitting controls. "Very impressive," he said then patted the freezer cabinet, "Oh this is for you by the way Kate, you'll be shipped out with the next delivery; my masters must feed you see they are starving."

Unable to pull free Kate glanced around anxiously to see what was within arms reach, not much was the answer certainly not the main console but she could see other satellite consoles dotted around disguised as a chess set, an umbrella stand and an old rotary phone. The Doctor liked to customize everything making it look antiquarian and dated, she had no idea why it was a quirk of the man he was eccentric.

"You're not going to kill me Z, we're fellow workers the oppressed masses," she tried to reason."

"I'm not oppressed Kate nor am I one of the masses, as for killing why shouldn't I kill you after all I killed all my other colleagues, just obeying orders naturally."

Kate lunged for the chess set but even quicker the android pulled her away from it and over to the other side of the main aisle, "Nice try but my sensors have already told me about certain hidden controls in here, you can't beat an android Kate."

Oh can't you she thought now well and truly riled we'll see about that, glad she'd kept up the Taekwondo lessons she kicked Z in the chest with a loud cry, she knew she couldn't hurt him but surely she could knock him off balance, and indeed he tottered back letting her go a look of surprise on his plastic face.

Kate was proud of herself she'd used her best kick and now she dove for the umbrella stand yanking down one of its hooks hoping it was the right one.

A sharp noise made her wince covering her ears, ouch that hurt. Z threw his arms up, lifted his head back, opened his mouth and…froze on the spot, one eye rolling up the other rolling down; he had been reduced to a shop window manikin.

"Just obeying orders huh," Kate snorted not impressed then she began shoving the freezer cabinet out of the tardis, she couldn't bring herself to touch Z or she'd have stuffed him into the freezer, he could be dumped in space later.

Lifting the sonic with difficulty and fumbling with the catch on the side the Doctor fought for breath, instantly left head lunged in and took the sonic from him with its mouth biting down on it hard, right head laughed,

"Surely you didn't expect us to fall for that old one Doctor, what was the plan ignite the soliton with a sonic percussion, I don't think it's even possible?"

"You never know," the time lord grimaced as his ribs creaked, "It was worth a try, actually I wasn't going to use sound as a combustion agent it's unreliable."

"What were you planning to do," said middle head unconvinced?

Summoning what little air into his lungs he could the thin man said, "This" and he whistled through his teeth, the blunt end of the sonic a round bulb split open to reveal, "Cigarette lighter," said the Doctor, "Nothing like a multi purpose tool, lights camp fires," there was a click and a spark, a flame jumped into the air.

Left head tried to eat the sonic but it jumped from his teeth, the other heads screamed a warning, one closed his eyes. Flame hit gas, gas fizzed and cracked and…

The Doctor was suddenly free, blown free by a blinding reaction, the fierce yellow boom of erupting soliton atoms sent him hurling across the room. All three heads uttered a piercing cry then they and they body burst apart into fiery fragments.

Still in flight the time lord curled his body into a foetal position, bone relaxation he thought it's all about bone relaxation, then he hit the floor and the air was driven out of him, he rolled over and over catching ankles and elbows on all sorts until he came to rest on his back, something rolling over to kiss his left cheek it was a tin of cheap economy beans, 'reduced for a quick sale' said the label, the Doctor groaned.

"Who's your friend," the voice made Kate jump and there he was hair ruffled, collar a mess, trousers torn over the left knee.

"Okay so I let him in," she began but the tall man just shrugged offering no rebuke.

"You felt sorry for him, he played on this, then once inside he jumped you but you (clever girl) activated a tardis defence system," the hook on the umbrella stand was casually flicked up, "It happens," the tone was amazingly laid back, "My sonic screwdriver got cremated," was that a catch in his voice, Kate almost laid a hand on his arm in sympathy but she was distracted by a red flash then another red flash.

The central console was lighting up and warbling in some distress, each screen flashed symbols she didn't understand and from the base came this creaking noise. The doors slammed shut automatically and the time rotor juddered, the overhead lamps began flickering.

"Doctor," she cried.

"Don't know."

"Is it the retail aliens?"

"Don't know," he repeated reaching the console to circle it one way then the other, fingers dancing, face rapt then, "Something else."

The in-flight sound started up they had taken off, her eyes were drawn to the yearometer, its digits were flashing backwards at an alarming rate. Beneath her feet the floor vibrated so strongly she had to grab a table, "What is it?"

"Immense force pulling us," he said tossed off balance for a moment, he looked at something and tightened his lips, he didn't need to tell her this was bad that they were out of control tumbling backwards through time and space, then she was blinded by a sudden whiteout and sank to her knees, her last vision was of the Doctor doing the same thing as if in prayer.


End file.
